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BLOODIES AWARDS 2019



Best Feature: Z (Director, Brandon Christensen; Producers, Chris Ball, Brandon Christensen, Kurt Harder, Colin Minihan)
Best Short: Romi (Director, Robert Cuffley)
Best Webseries: Deep Six (Director, Davin Lengyel)
Best Director: Brandon Christensen (Z)
Best Actress: Olunike Adeleyi (She Never Died)
Best Actor: Heston Horwin (Dead Dicks)
Best Ensemble: Happy Face
Best Screenplay: Dead Dicks (Directors: Chris Bavota and Lee Paula Springer)
Best Editing: Jeremy Lutter (Giltrude's Dwelling)
Best Score: Joee Cons and Mike Bistani with Hatiras (Raveage)
Best Cinematography: Julian Garofalo (The Nights Before Christmas)
Best FX: Ryan Nicholson (Puppet Killer) (This will be renamed the "Ryan Nicholson Special Makeup Effects Award" in 2020)
Best Poster: One in Two People
Best Podcast: Witch Finger Podcast (Creators: Yasmina Ketita, Megan Stinson and Morgan Lander)
Rising Star Award: Chris Bavota and Lee Paula Springer (Dead Dicks)
Vanguard Award: Audrey Cummings (She Never Died)

2019 LINEUP



THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21st


All Film Screenings will be held at The Royal Cinema (608 College St. Toronto, ON)



9:30 pm - OPENING FILM: PUPPET KILLER (Dir. Lisa Ovies) TORONTO PREMIERE (83 mins)
While celebrating Christmas at a cabin in the woods, a group of high school students are stalked by a psychotic killer obsessed with horror movie icons.

with the short film COPENHAGEN ROAD (Dir. Lee Chambers) (8:20 mins)
Late one night Craig, a mechanic, reluctantly agrees to help Nicole, a desperate young woman with a flat tire, in a car all too familiar to him. Nicole's mysterious incident on the old Copenhagen Road slowly strikes an eerie note for Craig and brings his own shady past rushing forward.

with the short film THE FIRST & LAST TIME (Dir. Peter Sacco) (5:27 min) Music Video
Do you believe in ghosts? The legendary band the Spoons visit a historical haunted mansion.

Please join us early during the pre-show for our podcast program featuring ROYAL CANADIAN MOVIE PODCAST.


FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd





7:00 pm - HAPPY FACE (Dir. Alexandre Franchi) TORONTO PREMIERE (97 mins)
Estranged from his manipulative cancer-stricken mother, a handsome teenage boy deforms his face with bandages and joins a therapy workshop for disfigured patients in a misguided attempt to reconnect with her.

with the short film LIAISON (Dir. Lyndon Horsfall) (12:30 mins)
"Liaison" is a short dramatic film about a woman who feels helpless in the circumstances of her life, so she embarks on a journey to make things right with the man who is troubling her.




9:30 pm - SHE NEVER DIED (Dir. Audrey Cummings) TORONTO PREMIERE (90 mins)
Lacey (Olunike Adeliyi), a socially detached loner is cursed with immortality and a never-ending tedium of existence. In her attempts to keep her compulsions in check, she seeks out the darkest souls humanity has to offer. Lacey must now face her own inner demons while simultaneously finding her next meal.

with the short film HOUSEKREEPING (Dir. Kyle Dunbar) (6:06 mins)
It's the offseason and Meg works the extra hours at the resort. Unbeknownst to her, a menace lurks and they too are getting paid hourly.


SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd





4:30 pm - FUNNY FRIGHTS - SHORTS SHOWCASE - CANADIAN PREMIERES (90 mins)
A collection of premieres of Canadian genre shorts that look on the lighter side of horror.

THE VIDEO STORE COMMERCIAL (Dirs. Cody Kennedy and Tim Rutherford) (4.10 mins)
A desperate video store owner hires a crew to shoot a commercial in his shop. But when they accidentally destroy a cursed VHS, suddenly, all their lives are in danger.- and worse yet, the commercial may never get finished.

NOW IS THE PRINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT (Dir. Michael Peeling) (10:25 mins)
After experiencing a series of unsettling events, a couple begins to fear that an evil printer may be at the centre of their paranoia.

VIDEO VENGENCE (Dirs.Nada Cosovic) (5:57 mins)
Two "cool girl" video rental shop employees make the best of the graveyard shift when an obnoxious customer shows face.

LONG PIG (Dir. Nikolas Benn) (7:07 mins)
An ex-con lands an interview for a respectable well paid job, but soon realizes the position is neither respectable, negotiable, or easily digestible.

BE GOOD (Dir. Anik Jean) (12:28 mins)
Nathan is a 6 years old kid like most kids of his age with a lot of imagination. He loves to dress-up and be in a character of monsters, zombies, vampires, super hero. He would prefer to play with someone of his age, a friend than to play with his imagination. but who? the new babysitter might be the one.

DOCKING (Dir. Trevor Anderson) (5:00)
Trevor reflects on his fear of dating.

DON'T SNEEZE (Dir. Ryan LaPlante) (2:06 mins)
Brian, a guy enjoying some "alone time"sneezes at an inopportune moment and is shocked by the consequences.

ONE LAST LAST HEIST (Dir. Darrin Rose) (11:36 mins)
An armed robber sets up his heartbroken buddy on a meet cute - during a heist.

THE TRAINEE (Dir. Ryan Couldrey) (7:15 mins)
A gritty anti-hero's interrogation of a criminal mastermind is derailed when her naive sidekick arrives on the scene.

ASKING FOR A FRIEND (Dir. Kelsey Bollig) (25:04 mins)
Blake and Q are childhood best friends, roommates, and well - soulmates. After a long day trying to maintain her #girlboss status at work, Blake's one-track mind is solely set on the nachos Q has promised to make for dinner. In addition to the nachos, however, Q has also unexpectedly managed to kill someone in their apartment. Through a series of heavily graphic and hilarious situations, the girls tap into their inner serial killers and decide to handle the body themselves. Their naivete and inexperience leads to a weekend full of accidental drugs, Saran Wrap, and body that, for whatever reason, will not stop bleeding. So hypothetically speaking - how do you get rid of a body? Asking for a friend.

Please join us early during the pre-show for our podcast program featuring WITCH FINGER HORROR PODCAST.




7:00 pm - DEAD DICKS (Dir. Chris Bavota, Lee Paula Springer) TORONTO PREMIERE (83 mins)
After Becca receives a distressing call from her suicidal brother Richie, she rushes over to his apartment and finds him alive and well - surrounded by copies of his own dead body.

with the short film SKY SO BLUE (Dir. Tyler Williams) (15:12 mins)
After being attacked and imprisoned in his own home, a man stands accused of creating a strange piece of music that may or may not have the power to kill anyone who hears it.




9:30 pm - THE NIGHTS BEFORE CHRISTMAS (Dir. Paul Tanter) WORLD PREMIERE (101 mins)
A year on from the Woodridge massacre and those who survived have moved on with their lives. But Mr and Mrs Claus are back, and this time the killings seem to be based around the asylum where they first met.

with the short film ONE IN TWO PEOPLE (Dir. Ali Mashayekhi) (7:42 mins)
Emily is surrounded by her friends as she reveals her dark secret.



SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24th






2:00 pm - EMERGING SCREAMS - SHORTS SHOWCASE (93 mins)
A collection of short film from either brilliant first time directors and the most promising student filmmakers in Canadian horror.

SPECTRE (Dirs. Gabriela Diacon & Mariana Diacon) (4:08 mins)
Things turn sinister at midnight when Anna realizes a presence in her house.

SOLITUDE (Dir. Andrew Fleming) (5.24 mins)
In this short thriller a man disconnects from his city life for tranquility while solo camping and canoeing through Ontario backcountry.

THE ACRYLIC (Dir. Daniel Pike) (12:23 mins)
On the hunt for some new art for her apartment walls, Rosie acquires a bizarre painting from an equally bizarre art collector.

SNACK TIME! (Dirs. Kaw Tay Whee School students) (4:20 mins)
The "Frostbite" kids are back! in Kindergarten, EVERYONE can hear you scream.

EXPERIENCE MACHINE (Dir. Ivana Bittnerova) (10:46 mins)
A young mechanic and his family lead comfortable lives in a sleek underground bunker. His life of futuristic luxury begins to deteriorate when the medical device strapped to his wrist is corrupted, revealing the reality of their true dystopian world.

DEATH'S TOLL (Dir. Spencer Hetherington) (3:59 mins)
When the bells toll, the heads roll. A bell tower becomes the harbinger of death at the hands of an ancient creature, Mortuus.

OSCAR (Dir. Matthew Takatsch)
A young teenager, bored and bedridden by a broken leg, receives a creepy painting as a gift from his older sister. Things take a dark turn when the painting comes to life.

NEW WOMAN (Dir. Benjamin Noah)(19:52 mins)
A gothic tale concerning a male pickpocket and a wealthy woman descending into a labyrinth of terror in 1888.

TRASH (Dir. Suzanne Etheridge) (5:00 mins)
They thought the dump fires were behind them, but something has emerged from the flames. Actions have consequences in this dark fairy tale, reminding you to take care of your trash, before it takes care of you.

WHAT'S WITHIN (Dir. Haad Bakshi) (7:04 mins)
Every family has its problems they ignore until one day the problem grows to destroy the family. Will Amelia and Zach recognize the threat to their family or will they fall to what's within?

WILLA (Dir. Corey Mayne) (7:04 mins)
David finds himself on a stalled train in the middle of nowhere, suddenly unable to locate his fiancée, Willa. No one has seen her but they all warn him to stay put because the train should be moving any minute. Based off of Stephen King's original tale.

Please join us early during the pre-show for our podcast program featuring I SPIT ON YOUR PODCAST.




4:30 pm - MAJIC (Dir. Erin Berry) CANADIAN PREMIERE (83 mins)
An anti-conspiracy video blogger thinks she is slipping into an alternate reality after being approached by an old man claiming to have worked for the legendary Majestic-12 (aka majic) the covert spy agency, created after the UFO incident at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.

with the short film SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME (Dir. Doug Cook) (13:43 mins)
After Bobby and Lydia lose their mother to cancer, life becomes a difficult feat, especially for Bobby. In an attempt to cheer her brother up, Lydia throws a Halloween party with a close group of friends. It's on this night that they will discover what they mean to each other and learn an important lesson...the dead should always be left alone.





7:00 pm - DARK VISIONS - SHORTS SHOWCASE (96 mins)
A collection of the darkest, scariest, moodiest and the most intense Canadian short films playing this year.

ROMI (Dir. Robert Cuffley) (10:00 mins)
A woman is terrorized by her virtual assistant after it dredges up an ugly event from her past.

THE THOUGHT OF YOU (Dir. Elvis Deane) (8:34 mins)
A woman tries to move on from the events of a violent night, but finds that it's not only trauma that comes clawing back.

ABHORRENT (Dir. David Scott) (15:00 mins)
A woman learns the sinister secret her husband has been hiding in the basement and must take violent action or risk losing her son to her spouse's evil influence.

POLAR TOUR (Dir. Dustin McGladrey) (4:30 mins)
Three university friends embark on an adventure they hope never to forget. They choose an exotic location in the Arctic to go polar bear seeing for their Spring Break. In the middle of their first tour, the engine of the rover breaks down. Now isolated and freezing in the dark, they wait for rescue. With their morale at a real low, their isolation ends with a chilling spring polar bear experience they did not plan for.

PEPPER (Dir. Kate Felix) (7:14 mins)
Weylon is looking for a hired hand and Fidelma needs the job desperately, but her duties in the dark barn might prove beyond her tolerance.

FORET NOIRE (Dirs. Jean-Marc E. Roy & Philippe David Gagné) (20:38)
Jura Department, France. A judge orders the re-enactment of a crime scene in order to shed some light on inconsistencies in a murder case. Under the eye of Lady Justice, the accused, a family of three women from Quebec, have to thoroughly relive the day of the crime.

DREAMCATCHER (Dir. Michael Alexander Uccello) (7:10 mins)
Julia, victim to multiple psychological disorders, must survive the night without her prescribed sedatives. In and out of sleep, the only thing protecting her sanity is the Dreamcatcher.

LE OTTO DITA DELLA MORTE (Dir. Frédéric Chalté) (3:40 mins)
Followed by a mysterious stalker dressed in a motorcycle suit, Lisa seeks the security of her old family cabin. Unfortunately, she can’t escape her dark memories.

SHE MUST VANISH (Dir. Kyle Martellacci) (14:00 mins)
Residents in a seaside town succumb to the malevolence of a witch, who sets a fury in motion.

LADY IN THE SHOWER (Dir. Chris Borgo) (6:10 mins)
A woman with a shady secret is haunted by a mysterious entity, while taking a shower in a historic hotel.





9:30pm - HUNTER'S MOON (Dir. Matt Campagna) CANADIAN PREMIERE (88 mins)
A lavish launch party for a gaming app is interrupted by a priest who condemns the party guests as "marked for the beast," they are convinced it's a publicity stunt until they find the body of the first victim.

with the short film BREAK IN BREAK OUT (Dir. Michael Driscoll) (7:37 mins)
A routine burglary goes horribly, terribly wrong.



MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25th






7:00 pm - A SERIES OF WEB BITES - WEB SERIES (92 mins)
A special feature length program of some of the best genre web series, music videos and digital content in Canada.

MYSTERY TRACKERS (Dir. Robin Hunter) (4:40 mins) concept pilot
An animated web series poking fun at the numerous shows exploring the paranormal. Rex Daniels, the conceited, non-believing host of the show puts up a good front and plays along with the victims of the paranormal. Soon he finds himself terrified in very real situations.

TO NO MAN'S LAND (Dir. Khizer Khani) (12:00 mins) concept pilot
When a catastrophic attack puts a peaceful galactic nation on the brink of war, a lowly Scout is sent to an isolated planet to obtain the whereabouts of the one man who may know who committed the attack. But he quickly finds out that there are other players in the game, trying to incite a war between the peaceful factions in the universe.

RESOLVE (Dir. Marta Borowski) (12:30 mins)
RESOLVE explores the ways we hurt one another and the nature of forgiveness in a world connected by social media.

DARK BEFORE DAWN: CARAVAN (Dirs. Brodie Spaull & Paul Krysinski) (9:58 mins)
After catastrophic social collapse, the survivors struggle to find their way in the harsh wilds. "Season 1" follows two such survivors, whose path becomes divided. Reconnecting in the future, they are both changed men. On the trail of his missing son, a man and his long-time friend are led to a decrepit caravan, where a nefarious merchant resides.

HIT THE HITMAN (Dir. Robert Bellamy) (13.26)
Can a Russian assassin protect his double life from his best friend.

RAVEAGE (Dir. Courtney James) (6:52 mins)
The series follows a journalist’s search for her missing sister as it takes her into a mysterious underground world of dance floor cults, dark web chat rooms, political scandal, and the rise, wrath, and anarchy of EDM’s newest celebrity DJ K055.

DEMON X (Dir. Matthew Campbell & Jason Fischer) (5:00 mins)
Kidnapped at birth and raised in secrecy by the Church, Lilith is the most powerful exorcist in existence. Unbeknownst to humanity and to Lilith herself, is Lucifer’s grand plan of creating an eternal hell on earth through his son Damien. The only thing standing in their way is his own daughter, who has forsaken her royal lineage to fight for humanity one epic battle at a time.

SPACE RIDERS: DIVISION EARTH II (Dir. Jordan Canning) (4:27 mins)
A year after the events of the award-winning first season, Philip (Dan Beirne) and Ken (Mark Little) are now incredible (read: pretty good) Space Riders... though they've yet to master the elusive Double-Zoid. Can they learn to work with Scarlet (Laura Cilevitz), a fellow Space Rider looking for revenge against an intergalactic villain? What nefarious plan is their nemesis Orson Ooze (Kayla Lorette) devising, and whatever happened to his estranged Moon Monster (Kyle Dooley)? What is a space STI and who will get it? Breakfast buffets, obscure 70s glam rock bands, and the perils of overcloning, all this season on Space Riders: Division Earth!

UTUKKU (Dir. Mathieu Laprise) (5:00 mins)
When Vielda decides to get revenge on her worst enemy, she's clueless about the disastrous consequences of her actions... On the menu : bullying, shamanism, a demonic doll and a 90s vibe.

BLACK OUT (Dir. Tanya Hoshi) (8:33 mins)
BLACKOUT is a 12-episode mystery/horror web series and special feature presentation. While investigating a mysterious case of extreme sleepwalking and memory loss, a documentary production is derailed when the paranormal symptoms of their subject begin to affect the crew as well.

Please join us early during the pre-show for our podcast program featuring IMAGE KILLER.




9:30 pm - DEEP SIX (Dir. Davin Lengyel) THEATRICAL PREMIERE (70 mins)
DEEP SIX is a science fiction web series about a crew of astronauts stranded in deep space who discover they’re not alone. Starring Michelle Morgan (Heartland), Mika Collins, Katherine Gauthier, Jonathan Whittaker (The Expanse), Ginger Busch, Kristian Bruun (Orphan Black), and featuring Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica).

with the short film GILTRUDE'S DWELLING (Dir. Jeremy Lutter) (14:30 mins)
Orphaned at the age of eleven, Giltrude, an interdimensional shut-in, has waited fifteen years for her parents to come home. When a life or death dilemma comes knocking, Giltrude must look beyond her front door and learn to face the outside universe.

with the short film EXT (Dir. Adrian Bobb) (9:24 mins)
In the snow-covered ruins of 24th century Toronto, AEGIS, a humanoid war machine, leads a team of five robot-bound digital-humans into the real world (aka the "E-X-T") to retake an enemy-occupied server installation vital to the survival of their digital homeworld.



TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26th





7:00 pm - Z (Dir. Brandon Christensen) TORONTO PREMIERE (83 mins)
A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.

with the short film THE REMNANT (Dir. Navin Ramaswaran) (16:45 mins)
A team of con artists posing as paranormal investigators steal from the home of an affluent elderly woman, only to find themselves unleashing a dormant malevolent spirit.


9:00 pm - CLOSING NIGHT AWARDS: THE BLOODIES
"The Bloodies" (The Blood in the Snow Awards) presented by Hollywood Suite.
Please stay after our closing film (included in your ticket) for our yearly star studded closing awards show where we give out 16 awards.



NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD VR EXPERIENCE

Join us at the Monarch Tavern after the screening and awards on Tuesday November 26th during our closing party to try out the World Premiere of the "Night of the Living Dead VR Experience" brought to you by Hollywood Suite. 10 pm to 2 am!

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